At the BCS level of college football, talent alone will not carry a player through their college career. Work ethic and coachability are big factors too. But for all athletes, maintaining their eligibility comes before anything else. Folsom (Calif.) Jordan Richards passes all those tests with flying colors.

If you were to ask ten different schools what position they project Richards to play at in college, you would get five different responses. His versatility makes the question hard to answer.

"I wouldn't say I have a best position but on offense but I love to play h-back," said Richards. "We run a spread at my high school so I get to go out and be a receiver or come out of the backfield and run split screens and quick screens."

"On defense I played mostly corner and some safety. Next season we're putting in a new defense and I will be playing a strong safety and be up in the box but still play a whole lot of man out on the edge."

His preference at the next level is to play wherever it would help the team most.

"I'd rather let the coaches decide where to put me," deferred Richards. "It's fun to score on people and that never gets old, but there is also something special about keeping guys from scoring."

For the Ducks, the answer to the position question is probably cornerback, although certainly several Oregon coaches would love to have him join their unit. In primary contact from Eugene has been defensive backs coach John Neal.